News
October 25, 2018Fredrick Erlich Announces Retirement from Living Resources After 46 Years
Fredrick W. Erlich, a pioneer in the area of developmental disability and brain injury services and CEO & Executive Director of Living Resources Corporation, announced today he will retire from the organization he built with others in 1973, effective December 31, 2019.
The Living Resources Board of Directors recently accepted Erlich’s letter of intention to retire, and will be immediately launching a nationwide search for his successor.
“Since Living Resources’ inception, my passion has been to build an organization focused on the greatest of missions: to serve individuals with disabilities and to support them and their families as they reach their greatest potential,” Erlich said in a message to Living Resources employees. “Building this organization and working with each of you has been the greatest of privileges. It is with your unwavering support and commitment that we are all a part of this success story.”
“Fred’s passion to help people resulted in one of the most impactful organizations in the Capital Region,” said Living Resources Board of Directors President Christopher Greagan. “Thanks to his leadership, our focus on the collective mission to make a difference in the lives of those with disabilities has never been clearer. We are committed to finding an executive officer who is comfortable with innovation and has a vision for the future, who understands that providing the best possible care is at the forefront of everything we do, and who recognizes the commitment of our staff.”
Erlich expressed to the Board of Directors his willingness to aid in the transition of an incoming CEO to ensure continuity of Living Resources services.
As a former State of New York employee studying developmental disabilities, Erlich took his desire to serve those with developmental disabilities with him when he founded Living Resources. The organization’s mission derived from Erlich’s own ideals and created a passionate outlet to provide growth opportunities in a safe and nurturing environment for thousands of individuals. Through providing life-enhancing services, the organization opens the way to individual independence.
Under Erlich’s leadership, the staff at Living Resources is now approximately 890 employees. The organization started out as an idea and hired its first six staff members in 1974. First operating at a roughly $100,000 budget, annual revenue for the organization now reaches more than $42 million. Living Resources services have touched the lives of more than 5,000 deserving individuals and has helped each person reach their life’s fullest potential.
Living Resources now offers an array of 18 separate and distinct services, ranging from after-school programs to “smart home” residential development for individuals with a wide-range of disabilities. At the root of each specialized service is the end goal of opening each recipient’s eyes to their own personal growth.
Erlich’s work has been continuously recognized from a local to national scale. Such acknowledgements include the Business Review’s best non-profit in 2010; the 2016 “Excellence in Public Service Award” from the University at Albany Alumni Association,; The Bishop Howard Hubbard Award in 2015; Lifetime Achievement Award from Hudson Valley Community College; the “Leadership Award in Promoting Employment” from the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities; Anschel Weiss Community Builder Award from the Jewish from Jewish Family Services, NENY; and a host of others.
As Living Resources prepares for life with a new CEO, Erlich’s legacy and founding principles remain invincible. The Living Resources Board of Directors will work closely with Erlich in searching for a new CEO, but for now the board will be showing its gratitude to the man who constructed their mission.
